SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
Research
In 2022, Dr Susannah Pickering-Saqqa, senior lecturer in NGO management and sustainable development, was awarded the East London Impact Scholars Award (ELISA) to develop research on how reflective practice can best support volunteering in small NGOs and charities. Reflective practice refers to a structured way of thinking about, understanding, and learning from what we do. Working with partner non-profit organisations, Dr Pickering-Saqqa identified four organisation volunteering priorities: training, commitment and motivation, resources, and the diversity of volunteers. From this, she has identified 38 models of reflective practice that address these partner priorities. In the next stage of the project, these reflective practice models will be tested with volunteers and organisations.
Teaching
The MSc in Humanitarian Intervention by Distance Learning is a groundbreaking course designed for individuals currently working or aspiring to work in humanitarian organisations worldwide. Students are trained to provide psychosocial support to individuals who have suffered, or who continue to suffer, from the effects of a natural or man-made catastrophe such as famine, flood, epidemic or war. Alongside this, the course focuses on ‘helping the helpers’ by equipping students with the skills and knowledge needed to support their own positive psychosocial development while dealing with the challenges common in humanitarian work.
Operations
UEL’s Legal Advice Centre offers free legal guidance to the community on legal issues such as housing, miscarriages of justice, employment disputes, personal injury and negligence claims. The service is delivered by University students under the supervision of experienced practising solicitors, who provide clients with written legal advice to clarify their legal position and outline steps they can take to resolve their issues. Visitors to the centre are often unaware of their rights and the free advice provided can have a significant positive impact by empowering them to take action. In 2023, the Legal Advice Centre assisted approximately 90 clients with housing matters by providing free legal advice or directing them to specialist agencies for further assistance.
Outreach
In March 2023, the Royal Docks School of Business and Law (RDSBL) hosted a three-day international symposium on “The Balkans and the greater Middle East in the Global Vortex” at University Square Stratford. The event welcomed more than 180 attendees, including policymakers, journalists, diplomats, businesspeople, ambassadors, students, and academics. Reports were presented on the preconditions for peace in the Balkans and Greater Middle East, with a focus on empowering communities and citizens to advocate for their human security and welfare rights. UEL’s Professor Vassilis Fouskas chaired the symposium, describing it as an extraordinary event that “showcases the importance of such international symposia for scholarly interactions and networking”.